The Trailhead Fire, burning on the north side of the Sawtooth Mountains, has diminished to a smoldering status and no longer threatens homes in the area.
U.S. Forest Service information officer Jim Anderson said the fire is 60 percent contained, and its perimeter has not grown during the past week.
"We're continuing to deal with small hot spots," he said. "The fire is just going to continue to smolder and creep until we put it out."
Anderson said fire crews are pumping water onto the fire from lakes and streams, and water is also being dumped from helicopters. He said fire-fighting efforts should be aided by less windy weather predicted for the next few days.
Though smoke from the Trailhead and other fires has blanketed the area west of Stanley, Anderson said there is no chance that U.S. Highway 21 will be closed over the Labor Day weekend.
After being declared controlled on July 31, the fire suddenly re-ignited on Aug. 22 and leaped from about 1,000 acres to more than 4,000. It is burning in the upper Stanley Lake Creek drainage between McGowen and Observation peaks.
Higher humidity on Wednesday helped slow the spread of fires burning in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness near the Middle Fork of the Salmon River, a Forest Service press release stated yesterday.
The lightning-caused Trail Creek Fire, 22 miles north of Stanley, was fanned by strong winds on Tuesday, and has burned 32,000 acres. The release stated that firefighters are focusing on protecting buildings at the Loon Creek guard station and Diamond D Ranch.
The Boundary Fire, near the Boundary Creek launch site on the Middle Fork, has grown to almost 9,500 acres.
The Forest Service is reminding weekend campers that fire conditions throughout the area are very high to extreme.
Buck Wickham, operations section chief for the Trailhead Fire, discusses on Sunday the fire's point of origin. Photo by Willy Cook
